Drug captures up for lakeshore taskforce

Each county the West Michigan Enforcement Team covers has its drug of choice, said State Police Detective Cam Henke.

PETER DAINING

Each county the West Michigan Enforcement Team covers has its drug of choice, said State Police Detective Cam Henke.

In Ottawa, it’s marijuana. In Muskegon, cocaine. And in Allegan, meth still rules.

Seizures were up in each of those categories in 2009, Henke told the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners during his annual report Tuesday.

“You can see the enormous amount of dope and illegal weapons and cash that have come out of these investigations,” said Al Vanderberg, Ottawa County administrator. “It’s really a decades-old example of intergovernmental cooperation. It allows three counties to work together in a cost-effective manner.”

The biggest change last year, he said, was the one-pot method for making meth, which makes it quicker and easier to start a lab.

But WEMET officers will continue the practice of targeting middle and upper level drug dealers, attempting to cut the flow of illegal drugs in the area.

“We’ll never completely stop the flow of narcotics into the area,” Vanderberg said. “But if we cut off a source for lower level drug dealers, that will cause measureable interruptions.”

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